Unfortunately for the 49ers, Hill didn't hear all of the play call because of the crowd noise and a malfunction in his helmet radio. He set up three of the wide receivers on the left side, away from where Porter, the sack artist, was lined up.

Singletary thought that if they had been on the right side, as intended, either one of them would have chip-blocked Porter or simply having the extra numbers on that side would have slowed Porter's rush.

"No, I didn't second-guess it at all," he said. "That's one of those plays where hopefully you have it set to this side and you have someone in (Porter's) face. Coach Martz knows how dangerous the guy is."

Singletary said he immediately saw the problem when the teams lined up. But without a timeout, he had no way to stop it.

Tight end Vernon Davis, who had helped control Porter all afternoon, was not in the game for the play. "You don't have to have Vernon Davis over there every time," Singletary said. "You just need traffic. ... You buy a couple of seconds and you get what you want."

Hill said he "just chose the wrong side, I guess. I don't know. That kind of stuff - it pops up throughout a game, especially on the road, more than people realize."

Singletary said he didn't know if Hill should have lined up in the shotgun instead of over the center. In a shotgun, he might have been better able to see Porter coming. Martz is not available for comment on Mondays.

The 49ers barely got the play off before the play clock expired. If they hadn't, they would have lost 5 yards but still would have had a chance to get a first down.

Hill said the call to spike the ball three plays earlier, on first down with 1:20 left, came from Martz. The 49ers, in retrospect, could have used the extra down more than the time they saved. "You've got three opportunities to gain 10 yards, or more," Hill said. "And you'd like to think on offense that we'd be able to do that."

Singletary didn't quarrel with the fact Martz ordered passes on the final 22 plays. "I just think that when it came down to it, we felt we had a rhythm going," he said.

Davis doesn't waver: Three days before the Miami game, Davis said, "I'm pretty sure I've gone up against a lot of other linebackers/defensive ends who are better than (Porter)." On Monday, he said his comment stands.

Davis blocked well and caught five passes, nearly hurdling a tackler after one of them. He also dropped a pass in the clear and failed to hook up with Hill on a critical third-down play on the 49ers' next-to-last possession. He didn't turn in time to take a quick pass as a "hot read" on a blitz. "It's no one's fault," Davis said. "We just have to be on the same page."

Gore better: Running back Frank Goresaid his ankle felt better but it was tough to miss the game in his hometown, especially because he bought tickets for 145 friends and relatives. He wasn't sure he'd be able to play this Sunday.